Mamuju (ANTARA Sulbar) - The West Sulawesi regional administration said it would set aside Rp 3 billion of its budget fund for a cacao processing project this year.
The factory will be built in the village of Pamulukang in the regency of Mamuju, to produce finished products of cacao , acting head of the regional plantation office Tanawali said here on Tuesday.
Tanawali said cacao farmers in the province could sell their beans to the factory and do not have to deal with exporters, adding so far West Sulawesi have exported most of their cacao beans.
West Sulawesi produces around 140,000 tons of cacao beans from 185,000 hectares of plantations.
Sulawesi contributes around two third of the country`s total production of cacao beans and West Sulawesi is the largest producing province.
Indonesia is the world`s third largest producer of cacao beans after the Ivory Coast and Ghana in Africa, but the country`s contribution to the world exports have declined on growing domestic consumption.
Responding to Indonesians` growing market of cacao products global companies have invested heavily in cocoa grinding industry and downstream businesses in the country in recent years.
In 2014, U.S. food giant Cargill, which has imported cacao beans from Sulawesi to feed its factories in other countries, commissioned its cacao grinding facility in Gresik, East Java.
Farmers, however, have become the weak link in Indonesia`s cocoa industry, and as a result, cocoa processors are often forced to source a growing portion of their raw beans from abroad at a time of high global prices.
According to the Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo), in 2013, Indonesia produced around 450,000 tons of cocoa beans, sharply down from the peak of 620,000 tons in 2006. In 2015, the production was estimated at around 600,000 tons.
The growing processing industry has resulted in an increase in exports of intermediate products, such as cocoa butter and cocoa powder, and a decline in exports of raw beans.
The factory will be built in the village of Pamulukang in the regency of Mamuju, to produce finished products of cacao , acting head of the regional plantation office Tanawali said here on Tuesday.
Tanawali said cacao farmers in the province could sell their beans to the factory and do not have to deal with exporters, adding so far West Sulawesi have exported most of their cacao beans.
West Sulawesi produces around 140,000 tons of cacao beans from 185,000 hectares of plantations.
Sulawesi contributes around two third of the country`s total production of cacao beans and West Sulawesi is the largest producing province.
Indonesia is the world`s third largest producer of cacao beans after the Ivory Coast and Ghana in Africa, but the country`s contribution to the world exports have declined on growing domestic consumption.
Responding to Indonesians` growing market of cacao products global companies have invested heavily in cocoa grinding industry and downstream businesses in the country in recent years.
In 2014, U.S. food giant Cargill, which has imported cacao beans from Sulawesi to feed its factories in other countries, commissioned its cacao grinding facility in Gresik, East Java.
Farmers, however, have become the weak link in Indonesia`s cocoa industry, and as a result, cocoa processors are often forced to source a growing portion of their raw beans from abroad at a time of high global prices.
According to the Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo), in 2013, Indonesia produced around 450,000 tons of cocoa beans, sharply down from the peak of 620,000 tons in 2006. In 2015, the production was estimated at around 600,000 tons.
The growing processing industry has resulted in an increase in exports of intermediate products, such as cocoa butter and cocoa powder, and a decline in exports of raw beans.